Rumen Microbiome Development in Lambs Following Maternal and Early-Life Prebiotic Mannan-Rich Fraction (MRF) Supplementation

The early-life rumen microbiome is highly dynamic, shaped by dietary transitions and maternal influences. Several dietary additives have been studied during the pre- and post-weaning periods to improve animal welfare, growth performance, and farming efficiencies. This study investigated microbial community assembly and growth performance of lambs provided with a mannan-rich fraction (MRF) supplement, either through maternal supplementation, directly, or via a combination of both. Using metagenomic sequencing and gas chromatography, we found differences in rumen microbial alpha and beta diversity related to both sampling time point and MRF supplementation (p < 0.05). At week 8, lamb microbiomes showed greater variance in their Shannon alpha diversity, with direct MRF supplementation only to the lamb resulting in a significantly greater diversity (p < 0.05). At week 20, combined maternal and lamb supplementation resulted in the highest Shannon diversity and was different compared to all other groups (p < 0.05). Beta diversity analyses combined with differential abundance analyses revealed that microbial community structures are driven by both diet and time, with maternal MRF supplementation associated with enrichment of taxa involved in carbohydrate fermentation and succinate metabolism, including Succiniclasticum ruminis, Succinovibrio dextrinosolvens, and Fibrobacter succinogenes. Generalized linear modeling identified significant associations between microbial alpha diversity metrics and total volatile fatty acids in lambs, particularly butyrate and valerate. Furthermore, at week 8, there was a significant positive correlation between alpha diversity metrics and propionate and valerate. In this study, lambs receiving MRF through maternal and direct supplementation had the highest growth performance, measured as the median average daily gains (kg) and final weights (kg) of lambs. These findings suggest that MRF supplementation, especially when provided both maternally and directly, may influence the lamb rumen microbiome and alter its metabolic potential with potential implications for optimizing early-life nutrition strategies in ruminant production systems.